Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine announced Tuesday that he has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, arguing that the giant’s practices have “unfairly” raised prices for consumers and stifled innovation, according to NBC News.
Racine wants to end Amazon’s alleged illegal uses of price agreements that it seeks to displace its competitors, obtain compensation and impose penalties to discourage similar conduct.
According to NBC News, the lawsuit filed in DC Superior Court alleges that Amazon maintained an illegal power monopoly using contracts with provisions that prevented third-party sellers on its platform from being able to offer their products at lower prices on other platforms.
The prosecutor’s office indicates that these contracts created “an artificially high floor through the online sales marketplace.”